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Contact: Kelly Bush (Wednesday), 360-391-3579 Contact: Rosemary Seifried (Thursday), 360-854-7234
May 14, 2014 -Sedro Woolley, WA–At 10:45 this morning, North Cascades National Park dispatch received a report of 2 skiers, both from Seattle, who were ascending the north face of Mount Shuksan for a ski tour when the party was hit by a snow slide. One skier narrowly avoided getting hit by the snow, but his partner was swept away and could not be located. The reporting skier, who was uninjured, was able to call for assistance using his cell phone. Two climbing rangers were dispatched via the park’s contracted helicopter to perform an aerial search. At around 15:30 this afternoon, climbing rangers located the missing skier. Rangers were able to determine that he did not survive the fall, which is estimated at over 2000 feet. Due to the nature of the terrain, and the warm weather with potential for continued unstable snow conditions, park rangers could not complete the recovery Wednesday afternoon. Recovery operations will take place Thursday morning via helicopter, pending stable conditions.
Whatcom County SAR and Bellingham Mountain Rescue also responded.
For more information, contact Rosemary Seifried at 360-854-7234.
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Last updated: February 28, 2015